Qatar Integrated Public Transport Marketing Strategy & Wayfinding Standards

HELPING QATAR SEE HOW EFFECTIVE ITS TRANSIT MARKETING CAN BE

The government of Qatar’s Ministry of Transport and Communication (MoTC) is planning to upgrade its public transit system with a replacement bus fleet and new metro rail and water taxi systems before 2022 when the country hosts the FIFA World Cup. After the upgrade is complete, the MoTC has set a goal of increasing transit ridership from 0.5 to 10 percent of daily trips. The main challenge to achieve this positive change in travel behavior will be persuading people to select a different transport mode for their daily travel.

  • Client: Qatar Ministry of Transport and Communication (MoTC)
  • Services: Research, Best Practices Reporting, Gaps & Needs Analysis, Case Studies, Marketing & Communications Strategy
  • Markets: Government, Transportation

Challenge

The government of Qatar’s Ministry of Transport and Communication (MoTC) is planning to upgrade its public transit system with a replacement bus fleet and new metro rail and water taxi systems before 2022 when the country hosts the FIFA World Cup. After the upgrade is complete, the MoTC has set a goal of increasing transit ridership from 0.5 to 10 percent of daily trips. The main challenge to achieve this positive change in travel behavior will be persuading people to select a different transport mode for their daily travel.

Solutions

BEST PRACTICES BASED ON WORLD-CLASS PUBLIC TRANSIT SYSTEMS

Global-5 authored a best practices report based on thorough analysis of world-class public transit systems in London, Paris and Amsterdam, and also smaller systems in Dubai and Orlando similar to the nation of Qatar in size and relevance according to climate, culture and target ridership. The report provided the MoTC with the most relevant best practices on how to use digital tools and owned, earned, shared and paid media to effectively market its public transit systems and communicate with its riders.

IDENTIFYING GAPS AND NEEDS

We became deeply familiar with current marketing and communications efforts by MoTC, Mowasalat (Qatar’s bus transit operator) and Qatar Rail by analyzing their efforts and results in owned, earned, shared and paid media categories. We also met with Qatar Rail and MoTC staff in Doha for conversations about their marketing efforts and goals. From our analysis and meetings, we created a report that identified gaps in their marketing and communications for current and planned transit systems and provided recommendations on how to fill these gaps.